The Old Lake

The Old Lake one of the country’s prettiest and most productive mixed coarse fisheries.

This 200-year-old tree-lined Victorian estate lake surrounded by irises and lilies covers 12 acres and has 75 pegs. Old Bury Hill, or the ‘Old Lake’ as it is known, holds a fantastic head of specimen carp, with several 30s and plenty of doubles and 20s, and is also noted for huge catches of specimen tench and bream, and outstanding winter predator sport with numerous double-figure zander and pike.

Fishing is available from both bank and boat, the lake’s purpose-built punts giving access to the famous ‘Jungle’ area, which is noted for its huge catches of specimen tench.

Probably the oldest, prettiest and arguably most prolific commercial fishery you will have the pleasure of wetting a line in, Old Bury Hill is a tree-lined and lily-fringed 12-acre estate lake bursting with fish. Maintained as a traditional, mixed coarse fishery, the Old Lake boasts a huge head of quality carp, tench and bream, along with an abundance of roach, rudd, perch, crucian carp, chub, pike and zander, providing all-year-round fishing.

Among the specimens are carp of over 30 lb, bream of over 10 lb, tench of 9 lb, zander to 16 lb, crucian carp to 4 lb 8 oz (caught in summer 2016) with perch, roach and rudd.

The tactics adopted range from hair-rigged boilies by carp anglers to pole or feeder by match anglers, and waggler by pleasure anglers. The fishing is relatively straightforward and huge catches are a regular feature on this large, prolific lake, especially in spring and summer. A five-hour match catch of 168 lb was recorded in 2017 from the Long Bank, and John Houseman and Chris Tulley once shared a 500 lb haul from a boat, which included tench and bream to over 8 lb.

Individual hauls of 100 bream in a pleasure session have been recorded, of fish averaging 4 lb apiece, and the bream are remarkably resistant to cold weather, providing match anglers with good bags of fish even when they have had to break a hole in the ice to fish their peg.

The water recirculation regime on the Old Lake ensures plenty of bites, because the constant ‘flow’ keeps the fish moving and feeding. The deeper water off the front bank is a great place for big bags of winter ‘slabs’, with chopped worm and casters in feeders a good tactic, though ‘tea-bags’ of pellets in small PVA mesh parcels is also popular with match and pleasure anglers.

All 75 swims have large, wooden platforms, ensuring comfort and enough room for seatboxes, bait-waiters or rod pods and shelters, with plenty of room between pegs. Multiple catches of double-figure and 20 lb carp with the chance of a 30-pounder is what capable carp anglers can expect from Old Bury Hill. It’s a big carp action paradise. A tremendous stock of mirrors, commons, leathers and linears and even a brightly coloured koi provide plenty of variety. Mornings and evenings are incredibly productive times, and even short trips can bring multiple hauls on boilies.

In winter, predators provides access to arguably the finest day ticket specimen zander fishing on offer, with numbers of double-figure fish reported each winter. In the right conditions the action is fast and furious from bank and boat. And with pike also present, there is variety in the predator fishing, too. The pike and zander season opens on October 1 each year and continues until March 14. Lures can be used, as well as deadbaits (small chunks of fish seem to work very well for the zander), but there is a barbless single-hooks-only rule at Bury Hill, for the protection of the fish and for easier unhooking, so leave your trebles at home.

Ever fished from a boat?

The popular Old Lake punts take up to three anglers with all their tackle in comfort for a relaxing day of exploring the lake’s nooks and crannies. The Jungle is where many boat anglers head, as this area is inaccessible from the bank, and is renowned for its big bags of tench, particularly in spring and early summer, when a dozen tench along with bream and carp is possible.

The Jungle is also the place where you will find the Old Lake’s specimen crucians, which are known to approach the British record. When winter arrives, it is the pike and zander that take over the mass of roots making up the Jungle.

To book your boat or for more information, please call us on 01306 883621 or email us info@buryhill.com

Fighting fit fish in fast flowing water…

A unique feature of Old Bury Hill is one of the most advanced aeration systems ever built at a commercial coarse fishery. Increased oxygenation and water flow means healthy, hard-fighting fish and happy anglers. Even through prolonged periods of hot weather, Bury Hill’s aeration system prevents oxygen levels dropping, and fish becoming lethargic and refusing to feed. Since its installation in 1997, two huge corkscrew water pumps have shifted up to seven million gallons of water a day through the fishery. But you won’t find unsightly fountains that spoil the atmosphere. Instead, the water is silently removed and then returned through three inlets along the Island Bank, each one flowing with rejuvenated water.

As well as being a feature that attracts huge numbers of bream, roach and carp, making for excellent fishing, these flowing inlets also prevent the lake completely freezing during cold spells, meaning Bury Hill is a truly all-year-round fishery.

Carp Safety

Bury Hill prides itself on beautiful carp in the best condition, to ensure that you catch the fish of your dreams. We enforce rules strictly to protect our stock from tackle dangers and poor handling. You will only be allowed to fish for carp if you adhere to the following rules:
• You must own a large, padded unhooking mat which must be wetted and used at all times that a carp is out of the water;
• Barbless hooks only;
• Carp must never be carried in the hands, only in a weigh sling or a zipped-up sling-style unhooking mat;
• No sacking of carp;
• Landing nets must be a minimum of 36 inches on the Old Lake when targeting carp
• Landing nets must be dipped before you enter the fishery to guard against disease transmission;
• No permanently fixed leads. Bailiffs will check your rigs;
• No particle baits with the exception of sweetcorn and hemp.

You will be asked to leave the fishery without refund and/or your membership will be revoked if you break these rules.

This weeks latest catches week ending 16/12/18

• Great carp and roach sport on Bonds
• Anglers using pole and maggots to catch both species
• Double-figure temperatures forecast for the weekend
• Winter solstice and Full Moon next Friday and Saturday

FISHERY OPENING TIMES
The fishery currently opens for day ticket fishing at around 7.00am on weekdays; 6.30am weekends and Bank Holidays. Current closing time is approximately 4.00pm.

TACKLE & BAIT SHOP OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK!
Open 7 days a week, 362 days a year, when you need it!

• PLEASE BE AWARE, ENVIRONMENT AGENCY ROD LICENCES ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE FROM THE TACKLE SHOP. THEY CAN BE OBTAINED FROM POST OFFICES AND ONLINE AT www.postoffice.co.uk/rod-fishing-licence

• The predator fishing season begins on October 1 and finishes on March 14.

THIS WEEK’S FISHING! (in brief)
There’s some great sport to be had on Bonds Lake at the moment, fishing with pole or waggler and maggots and catching lots of carp but also roach to specimen size.
An angler had 15 roach to 1 lb 6 oz as well as eight carp to 12 lb during his session, and the combination of maggots and suitable tackle meant he could catch both species by fishing the same approach.
After the recent chilly weather, there’s a return to double-figure values forecast for next weekend, as well as an end to the easterly winds, which are expected to swing round to south-westerlies on Wednesday and to continue from that direction into the weekend.
And with the shortest day on Friday, daylight length will begin to increase from this weekend onwards.
After a wet weekend, Monday is expected to be dry and sunny, with a high of 9 degrees C, though starting chilly at 4 degrees overnight from Sunday, but followed by a mild 8 degrees overnight into Tuesday, which should reach 9, but with rain in the afternoon, and 7 overnight into Wednesday, which should also reach 9 and be largely dry. A cooler night of 5 degrees into Thursday should lead to a dry day of 8 with some sunshine, then 5 again overnight into Friday, which should reach 11, though with rain in the morning, followed by 8 overnight into a dry Saturday of 11, with 7 overnight into a similar Sunday. Winds should change from moderate south-easterlies into south-westerlies overnight between Sunday and Monday, becoming strong south-easterlies on Tuesday, but then lightish south-westerlies on Wednesday, moderate and more westerly on Thursday and stronger south-westerlies on Friday and into Saturday, becoming lighter on Sunday. So a welcome change to more fishy conditions from midweek and in particular for next weekend, with dry and milder weather forecast and a healthy ‘chop’ on the water to stir the fish into action. And with the week after likely to be one of flat calms, cool days and chilly nights as high pressure comes in following the Full Moon, it’s as well to take advantage of this weekend’s more favourable conditions.

FOR ALL THE VERY LATEST CATCHES AS THEY HAPPEN, CHECK-OUT THE BURY HILL FISHERIES FACEBOOK PAGE AT www.facebook.com/BuryHillFisheries

OLD BURY HILL LAKE – GENERAL & BOAT FISHING

The Old Lake continues to produce carp and bream and a sprinkling of zander to anglers who look for signs of fish and keep on the move. When conditions make fish reluctant to search for food, dropping on them can often bring a result.
Watching for gentle bites and takes and making bite indication more sensitive is also one of the keys to success in the cooler conditions.
A Dean’s Casuals match in cold winds was won by Norman Youldon with 23 lb 8 oz of bream to 4 lb on feeder, ahead of Mark Hathway on 21 lb 12 oz.

TEMPLE LAKE – CARP

A slower week for reported catches on Temple, but on milder days there should be a good chance of some action.

PLEASE NOTE: LEAD CORE IS BANNED ON BOTH TEMPLE AND THE OLD LAKE. PLEASE SEE KEN IN THE SHOP FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

BONDS LAKE

Bonds is a popular choice among visitors, because of its track record for producing multiple runs, and also because a variety of tactics work, meaning visitors can fish in a way that they enjoy and still catch plenty of fish.
Pole or feeder, straight lead or waggler, or pellet waggler up in the water with baits fired over the top all work well, and the fish keep on the move, giving lots of anglers a slice of the action.

Steve Sprout, from Farley Green, had a memorable day with the lake’s carp and roach at peg 12, catching eight carp of up to 12 lb and 15 roach of up to 1 lb 6 oz, along with a 12 oz rudd, all on pole and maggots, fishing double or triple maggot on the hook.
The roach that remained in Bonds when many of the fish were moved to Milton Lake the winter before last have grown on, boosted by the high-protein feed from anglers fishing for carp.
With balanced tackle, it is possible to catch both carp and roach on the same tactics, not knowing what you are going to hook next when the float goes under, because maggots make a perfect winter bait for both species, as Steve proved.
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MILTON LAKE

Milton Lake is the place to head for if you want tench, bream, crucians and specimen roach, along with a chance of a bonus carp, either on waggler with a running line, or pole close in or up against the lily pads, where fish can often be lined up with a little-and-often loosefeeding approach using small baits.

Just got back from a three day trip with my mate Dino fished Milford pond first really good down trench following day hired one of the boats Fished The jungle bagged up on bream following day went back on Milford fantastic day well worth the trip from Yorkshire recommend it will go back🎣👍